56 Tasting Notes

I LOVETHIS. I don’t have much else to say about it. But with the combination of white tea and aniseed, I was biased from the start. I’ll eat/drink pretty much anything containing anise.
I love the smell of licorice (I seem to be the minority here), so I was inhaling this from the moment I opened the sampler packet. And it’s a heavy scent. Drinking this is like liquid licorice. But that’s why I plan to invest in a proper supply of it, now that my sample is nearly gone. You can’t keep an Italian away from her anise.

Preparation

Roasted anything will win points for me. I’m loving the flavor of this one. Prior to receiving this sample I had yet to experience a twig-like tea, so I was excited to open the little pouch. Even the scent of the tea itself is lovely; a somewhat smoky, nutty fragrance. Yum.

I steeped it a little too long, because I forgot to put on my timer, but it’s still great. It’s not bitter at all, despite the oversteep, and it’s smooth and nutty. I see here that it can be mixed with juice? I must try it.

Preparation

I love white tea. I really wanted to love this tea. But I’m coming to the bottom of my sample, and I’m just not feeling it. It’s supposed to have this nice, sweet taste, but I’m not tasting it. I even let it cool down a bit (actually, it’s about room temperature now, oops) but nothing comes out for me. I think my taste buds are broken.
It’s not unpleasant by any means, but I’m not running out to buy it. I’ve tried steeping it longer, too. How disappointing.

Preparation

This is my go-to tea when I’m looking for something light. Or when I’m lazy, as I have it in bag version.
Everything I love about tea is in its description: “coconut, vanilla, ginger, and lemongrass.” And why wouldn’t I love this? The ginger is almost not there, which I’m totally okay with, as I’m not a fan. But it blends together so nicely that nothing sticks out, and I’m left with something refreshing to battle my Monday morning.
I’m almost out of my stash, surprisingly, and I do believe I’ll be replenishing this one.

Preparation

I still haven’t gotten around to testing some of my tea-of-the-month samplers, so I decided it was time to break them out (especially considering the November batch is coming soon).

This has a great roasted nutty flavor. I didn’t read up on it at all before steeping, so I wasn’t expecting anything in particular. So it was a pleasant surprise! It has a happy scent, too; it fills my room with that same nutty fragrance. It’s a nice tea for autumn. Works well with my current surroundings, with the falling leaves and brisk air (if I wasn’t sitting at work, that is).

Preparation

There’s not actually tea in this one. It’s all fruit. And for someone who’s not a huge fan of sweet, fruity teas… I really don’t like it.
It’s way too sweet for me hot. Despite its name, I don’t taste almonds at all. There are some slivers there, but it’s not enough over the potency of apples. So I figured it would be okay iced, but it’s the same deal. It steeps to a bright pink color that reminds me of kool-aid. Maybe the taste is similar, too. I honestly don’t recall the flavor of kool-aid.
I’ll stick to teas with actual tea in them. At least this one was just a sample.

Preparation

This may be my current favorite tea. I love pearls—I may be easily amused—and I love jasmine. Oh, and I love white tea. What’s not to love?
I was drawn to it the moment I opened the little package from Steepster Select. It has a delicious jasmine-y scent. When I took the leaves off I thought for a moment that I hadn’t steeped it long enough, because it’s really light. I may have kept it on a little longer. But it didn’t make it bitter or anything. It’s a great tea for my morning ritual. Not too dark, with a subtle fragrance (even after oversteeping), and a smooth texture.
As a bonus, it still tastes good when I accidentally leave it out for too long. I haven’t tried this one iced, but I suspect it would be just as good. There aren’t too many teas that can get away with keeping their flavor at room temperature.

Preparation

I waited to review this one. I’ve been rationing my sample to get the most out of it, because I had to try it three times to make a decision. Because sometimes, when you absolutely love something in the first cup, you grow bored of it after a few weeks.
This is most definitely not the case here.
What can I say that hasn’t already been mentioned? I have quite a fondness for coconut, and a little bit of a love for oolong. This tea is nice and light with just the right amount of coconutty goodness. I love just sticking my nose in the mug to inhale its scent. I took a travel mug with me on my commute, and it kicked my senses into overdrive through the early-morning grogginess.
It’s just fantastic. I’ve succumbed to rambling about its awesomeness rather than writing an actual review.

Preparation

The more I drink this, the more the sweet peachy flavor is getting to me. It’s honestly too sweet for a hot tea, and I can’t decide what time of day to drink it.
But I just made a whole pitcher of it iced, and it’s decidedly better cold. Because the tea is so sweet, it works really well iced. The peach isn’t as strong, and it blends really well with the white tea. In fact, it’s more like tea when it’s cold rather than just peach.
Glad I found something to do with all this tea!

Why hello, steepster! Long time no.. oh whatever.
I have no excuse for visiting, aside from the simple fact I haven’t tried any new teas lately. But I assure you I’m drinking the good stuff that’s already in my cupboard.
Tangent aside…
I’ve reviewed this one in the past, but I just made myself an iced version of it for the summer (I anticipate doing this a lot with the stuff I have). Like most of you, I’m sure, I received the GM newsletter about making iced tea, and I was all excited to try it out with my White Persian Melon when I realized I don’t own White Persian Melon (shameful). So I went with this one instead.

Excellent choice! The tea is naturally sweet and sugary, so there’s no need to add anything to it (That that I would of course, but you know how iced tea can get…). I still like the hot version better, but this makes an excellent iced tea. Luckily, no one in my house wants my real tea so I get the entire pitcher to myself :)

You may see more of me now over the summer as I try out some more teas!